Meant to be
by Skovko
Summary: Everyone thought Roman and Maddie had a good relationship until all hell broke loose in front of everyone. Baron pulled away from her because of his feelings, back when she started dating Roman. Now she needs a friend again, and he's there for her. It turns out they have even more in common than he knew. Maybe they were meant to be after all.
1. The break up

All hell seemed to break loose the second Baron walked into the arena. Just a few seconds earlier it had all been nice and quiet outside. He had enjoyed hearing the birds sing as he walked from his bus to the arena. Inside a fight was going on. It wasn't the fight itself that was the biggest surprise. It was who was fighting. Roman and Maddie. A couple that seemed perfect in everyone's eyes, and not once in their two years long relationship had aired any dirty laundry publicly.

"I never lied to you!" She shouted. "What the hell were you thinking?"  
"I didn't think you were serious because it's not normal!" He shouted back.  
"Fuck you, Roman! You want normal? Fine, here's normal for you! We're done!" She shouted.  
"Maddie," his voice got softer. "Let's talk about this."  
"No, we're done, Roman!" She kept shouting. "There's no coming back from this!"

She stormed down the hallway, locking eyes with Baron for a brief second as she passed him. He started moving his hand, wanting to reach out and grab her, maybe even follow her outside, but he let her run. Roman stormed in the other direction while everyone was still standing there watching. It must have been quite the show. Baron had only gotten the ending. He spotted his best friend Corey further down and hurried towards him.

"Dude, what happened?" Baron asked.  
"We were all in catering. Brie and Daniel were going on about wanting a sibling for Birdie, and Roman said that he couldn't wait to have children either," Corey answered.  
"Yeah, so?" Baron asked.  
"Apparently Maddie doesn't want children, and she told Roman this early in their relationship. He's been lying all along, pretending he doesn't want them either. He just figured she'd change her mind," Corey explained.  
"That's bullshit!" Baron started feeling angry.  
"I know that, but you know first hand how many people have a hard time accepting when people choose not to have children. It's fucked up. Roman set them both up for heartbreak on that one," Corey said.

Baron felt torn. There was a time he and Maddie had been close. When she had started dating Roman, Baron had pulled away in order to not get his own heart broken. Now he was torn between staying away or going after her. He stayed inside the arena for the show, keeping an eye on her from afar when she came back in to have her match. He didn't talk to her until after the show where he found her out in the parking lot, sitting on her suitcase while going through her phone.

"Hi Maddie," he stopped in front of her. "What are you doing?"  
"Trying to find somewhere to rent a car at this hour," she said.  
"You're done traveling with Roman?" He asked.  
"Really, Baron?" She looked up at him. "You were there for the fight earlier. We're done."  
"I got room on my bus," he offered.  
"Are you sure you wanna hang out with me again? I wasn't good enough back in the days," she said.  
"It was never about that," he sighed. "Come on."

He held out his hand. She looked at it for a second before taking it and allowing him to pull her up on her feet. She grabbed her suitcase and followed him over to his bus and inside of it.

"Just out of curiosity," she let go of her suitcase. "Why didn't you wanna be friends anymore?"  
"You seemed happy, and I didn't wanna ruin that," he said.  
"How on earth were you gonna ruin my happiness by being my friend?" She asked.  
"I don't know," he scratched his head. "It just seemed like the right thing back then. Anyway, this is my bus. I have a double bed, and there's a toilet and shower in here."

He knocked on a door to let her know that was the bathroom.

"A shower on the bus? Luxury," she said.  
"Only the best," he grinned. "Charles, get us on the road."  
"Charles?" She asked.  
"My bus driver," he answered. "So what do you wanna do?"  
"Sleep," she said.

He walked her into the bedroom in the back. She looked at the bed, and then up at him. Her pale green eyes could still suck him right in like they used to back in the days when they were friends. Back before she dated Roman. She turned around and started undressing. He watched her back and her medium brown, semi-curly hair that went to the middle of her back. Still so beautiful. Once she was in her panties and tee she climbed under the covers. He undressed to his boxers and joined her. They both laid on their sides, watching each other.

"Are you okay? How do you feel?" He asked.  
"Strangely enough, I feel relief. Of course it hurts, but not as much as I thought it would. I mostly feel relief," she answered.  
"That's good, isn't it?" He asked.  
"I guess so. I'm glad that it all came out now. What if I had ended up marrying him at one point? God, I was honest with him, Baron. I told him on the very first date that if kids were in his future plans he shouldn't ask me out again. Why didn't he believe me?" She asked.  
"I don't know," he answered.

He ran a hand through her hair before pulling her close to hug her.

"You didn't deserve that," he said.  
"It doesn't matter. What's done is done," she said.  
"But still," his fingers ran up and down her back in a soothing manner. "You were honest, and he chose not to believe you. No one deserves that."

She moved back a bit and out of his hug.

"Baron?" She asked softly.  
"Yeah?" He looked at her.  
"I missed you," she smiled.  
"I missed you too," he smiled back.

She woke up next morning with her back against his chest, and his arm wrapped around her waist. His hand was resting on her stomach. She moved her hand down and laced her fingers in between his. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Are you awake?" He asked.  
"Mmm," she answered. "This feels good."  
"It does," he agreed. "It's been too long since I woke up with a woman in my arms.

She turned around, grabbed both his hands, and held on to them as she placed them between them. Holding hands while looking at each other.

"How long?" She asked.  
"Around two years," he answered.  
"You haven't gotten laid in two years?" She asked shocked.  
"I didn't say that," he laughed. "I've gotten my fair share, but I usually sneak out in the middle of the night. The last woman I actually spent a night with was Sasha. We were just each other's rebounds."  
"Who were you rebounding from? You never told me there was someone," she said.  
"I never told anyone. I never even told her how I felt," he said. "But there was someone."  
"I wish you had told me," she said. "Was that why you ended our friendship? Sometimes it hurts too much to see friends in relationships when we're unhappy ourselves."

This was his chance. He could come clean about all his bottled up feelings about her. Back then he had thought he had time. He had thought he could wait for the right moment. Out of nowhere Roman had moved in and asked her out. Baron had chosen to take a huge step back and let her be with Roman. He had ended their friendship because of it. Because it hurt too much to see her with someone else. He had thought he had time, but it turned out he had waited too long. He could tell her all this now, but he kept it inside.

"Okay, get up," he said.  
"Why?" She asked.  
"Because I'm taking you out for breakfast," he answered. "Just like in the old days."  
"Waffles?" She started grinning.  
"You know it," he chuckled.


	2. The hook up

Spending the day with Baron had given her a boost of energy. They had quickly found their old roles again as if their friendship had never been on hold for two years. She felt renewed walking into the arena that evening. It didn't last long though. As soon as she was done with her match, Roman was there.

"Can we talk?" He asked.  
"I think we already said everything we needed to say yesterday," she answered.  
"Please," he begged.  
"Fine," she pointed at a door. "In there."

They walked into the room and closed the door behind them. It was one thing that everyone had witnessed their fight the night before. They didn't need people to dig further into their personal lives.

"Talk," she said.

He shifted awkwardly, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times, not able to find his words. He suddenly moved in, grabbed her face, and tried kissing her. She fought against him and pushed him away.

"No!" She yelled. "What the fuck, Roman?"  
"Please, baby girl. I miss you," he said.  
"This is not something we can fix," she said.  
"Don't leave me over this. We can compromise," he said.  
"Compromise?" She snorted. "How? You want kids, I don't. How do you compromise on that? Get half a kid? It doesn't work that way, Roman."  
"We can have just one," he said. "I'll be okay with that."  
"But I won't!" She yelled again.

She ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head violently, before looking at him again.

"It all makes sense now. God, I've been so blind. This is why you always refused to be the one buying condoms. And those times we were drunk, and you tried convincing me to risk it. You were trying to trap me," she said.  
"I was trying to make our love grow," he defended himself.  
"Stop it, Roman! For fuck's sake, just stop it!" She growled. "You can't mess with someone's life like that. You have no right. What was your plan here? You would continue wrestling while I would be stuck at home with a kid I wouldn't even love?"  
"You'd love your own," he said.  
"No!" She almost screamed. "I would hate it, and I would resent you for ever putting me in that position. The kid would grow up to know its mother never loved it, and its father was never home. You would ruin three lives that way. Yours, mine and the kid's."

She moved over to the door and tore it open.

"Maddie, please!" He begged.  
"I'll move my stuff out of your house as soon as possible," she said. "And next time you better fucking listen and believe a woman when she tells you something like this."

She hurried out to Baron's bus, and he looked at her surprised as she seemed like one big ball of fury.

"What happened?" He asked.  
"Roman fucking happened! That idiot!" She yelled. "You got any alcohol?"  
"Tequila," he said.  
"I'm gonna grab a quick shower, and then we'll get drunk out of our minds. Sound good?" She asked.  
"Sounds like a plan," he said.

Shots of tequila went down faster than they should have, but they both needed it. Baron was happy to have her back in his life even though he still struggled with all the feelings he kept hidden inside.

"Why can't people accept when someone doesn't want kids?" She pouted.  
"I wish I knew," he sighed.  
"I wanna get my tubes tied, but it's almost impossible for a woman. Every doctor I've seen has told me to come back after I'm 30 and have at least three children. I don't want a single one, damn it! It doesn't matter that I'm 31 now. And they always ask what my future husband will think about it. Well, for starters, I wouldn't marry someone who wants kids. And why would my future husband even get a say in what I do with my body? It's my body, damn it! And men can just walk in and ask for a vasectomy, and they'll get the green light almost every single time. It's not fair."  
"I know," he said.  
"How the fuck would you even know?" She asked.  
"Because my doctor gave me the green light," he answered.

It took a couple of seconds for those words to get through to her. She moved up on her knees and crawled closer to him.

"You're sterilized?" She asked.  
"No, but I want to. I don't want kids either, so I went to my doctor. He gave me the green light. However, it seems weird asking my boss for time off for something like that. It's not a surgery that I need per se, and I won't be able to wrestle for a few weeks afterwards. Sure, people can get to work three days later, but not fucking wrestle," he said.

She stared at him with wide eyes, and he couldn't help but chuckle at how cute she looked.

"What?" He asked.  
"Somehow you just got even more hot," she answered.  
"More hot? So you're admitting to finding me hot?" He smirked.  
"I always did," she stuck out her tongue.  
"Interesting," he scratched his chin. "Likewise. You're pretty hot yourself."

Her smile faltered, and he knew what was coming. She was gonna ask again, and he had to answer. His drunk mind couldn't come up with an excuse, and she deserved the truth.

"Baron," her voice was soft and went straight into his heart. "Why did you turn your back on me? I thought we were friends, and then one day you weren't there anymore. I never understood what I did wrong."  
"You didn't do anything wrong," he sighed. "I had feelings for you, and I couldn't stand seeing you with Roman. It hurt too much."  
"You idiot!" She hissed.  
"What?" He looked at her surprised.  
"I had feelings for you too. Why do you think I kept it casual with Roman in the beginning? I kept hoping that you and I could go out and maybe see if there was something there. But you pulled away from me, so I pushed you out of my mind, and allowed myself to fall in love with him," she said.

Her face turned into anger. She launched herself at him, trying to get her hands on him somehow.

"You fucking idiot!" She yelled. "All of this shit could have been avoided if you had just had the balls to tell me!"  
"It's not like you ever told me either!" He yelled back.

He grabbed her wrists and locked her arms behind her back. Somehow she had managed to straddle him in their drunken fight, and suddenly he was too aware at how close they were. No more words were needed. Their eyes said it all. They both moved forward at the same time, lips crashing together hungrily. He released her wrists and wrapped his arms around her waist while she wrapped her arms around his neck. He managed to get up from the couch and carry her into the bedroom. He kicked the door shut behind them, dumped her down on the bed and followed suit, his body covering hers while his hands found their way under her clothes.

"There's condoms in my purse," she managed to get out between their heated kisses.  
"What?" He chuckled. "You don't think I pack my own?"

His lips found her neck, leaving hot kisses and bites on her delicate skin.

"Sorry, old habit," she said.  
"I'm not him," his voice came clear in a promising tone right next to her ear.


	3. Going home

Baron woke up naked and alone next morning and with a weird taste in his mouth. He could still taste the tequila, but he could also still taste something else. Something sweet. The taste of Maddie lingered deeply on his tongue, and it made him smile.

He sat up in bed and looked around. The smell of sex was still vaguely hanging in the air, but she wasn't in the room anymore. The door was open, and he could hear the water run. He put on his boxers and hurried to the little bathroom. To his surprise he found the door locked so he chose to knock on it.

"What?" She yelled from the other side.  
"Are you okay?" He asked.

It seemed like a stupid question. Why wouldn't she be okay?

"Hungover as fuck," she answered. "What the hell happened last night? I don't remember anything after my tenth tequila."

His heart dropped. She didn't remember what had happened between them. He suddenly felt like a creep that had taken advantage of a drunk, heartbroken woman. It didn't matter in that moment that he had been just as drunk as her.

"Nothing. Nothing happened," he lied. "We got drunk, and the night was warm, so we thought it would be funny to sleep naked. Drunken logic."

It was a crappy lie. Funny to sleep naked. As if anyone would ever buy that. He walked to the sink it the little tea kitchen, opened the cabinet underneath, and looked in the trash can. There on top was the used condom where he had left it the night before. He grabbed some paper towels and buried the condom underneath so she wouldn't see it. He straightened his back as he heard the bathroom door unlock. He turned around with a smile as she came walking out in a black dress with light yellow dots on it.

"Morning," he said. "Should we go out for breakfast again today?"  
"Waffles?" She grinned.  
"You know it," he said.

He managed to get through the day without letting her know what had happened. He felt heartbroken inside, but he didn't show her. He had finally gotten her after years of longing, and she didn't even remember. He almost sighed in relief that night after RAW when they finally reached Tampa, Florida. He had his driver take her to her brother's house.

"Thanks for everything, Baron," she said.  
"Anytime," he said. "Do you need some help moving out?"  
"No, my brother will help me tomorrow. We're gonna move in early enough so that Roman hopefully will either sleep through it, or be too tired to put up a fight," she said.  
"Take care, Maddie. You know where I live if you need me, and you got my number," he said.

He hadn't actually thought she would show up or even call, so he was surprised to find her Tuesday night around 9 PM outside his front door. She stood there biting her lip in the rain, all drenched. She must have walked to his house instead of driving.

"Shit, Maddie, come in. You're fucking soaked," he said.  
"I moved out of his house," she said.  
"He didn't take it well?" He asked.  
"He said a lot of things, but I wasn't listening. I couldn't stop thinking," she said.  
"About what?" He asked. "And will you please come in from the rain before you catch a cold?"  
"About you," she answered. "Were you just gonna continue pretending nothing happened?"  
"You remember," he sighed.  
"Of course I remember," she almost scolded him. "How could I not remember? I've been wanting to be with you for years, and I never thought it would happen. And I'm sorry that I panicked yesterday morning, but I just wanted to move out and move on, you know. I broke up with him and found myself in another man's bed the next day. How fucked up is that? And I didn't want you to think you were just a rebound because you're so much more, Baron. You were always so much more."

He quickly took a couple of steps forward, out into the rain, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss.

"I always loved you," she whimpered. "Even when I was with him, I still loved you too. I loved him too. I'm so fucked up. You should run away and save yourself."  
"No matter where I run, I'm already soaked," he laughed and looked up into the rain for a second. "I'd rather stay here and drown with you if that's what it takes to keep you in my arms."  
"Baron," she smiled. "You're fucking weird."  
"That makes us a good match. And I always loved you too," he said. "And now we're going inside, or I'm gonna end up fucking you out here in the rain, and we'll both end up catching a cold."  
"It would be worth it," she chuckled.  
"Totally," he pecked her lips. "Inside, sweet cakes. Now! Before I fuck you up against the house."

She woke up next morning the same way she had done on his bus. Her back against his chest, his arm around her waist, his hand on her stomach. She laced her fingers in between his and felt him squeeze her hand.

"I can get used to waking up like this," she said.  
"You better," he placed a kiss between her shoulder blades.

She moved around so she could look at him.

"People are gonna call me names when they find out how quickly I landed in your bed," she said.  
"Do you wanna keep it a secret?" He asked. "It's no one's business anyway."  
"Can we just take it as it comes? We're not teenagers anymore, so we don't have to dry hump each other around every corner and get in people's faces to show them we're together. Let's just let this thing play out the way it's supposed to. Eventually people will catch on," she said.  
"Especially when you continue riding on my bus. It's one thing I gave you a way out last week. People will ask questions when we continue traveling together," he said.  
"Let them ask," she sighed. "Can we stay in bed all day today?"  
"Only if you're naked," he grinned.


	4. Tomorrow's perfect

People caught on way quickly that they were together despite them not showing much affection inside the arenas. They kept it professional, but everyone saw them traveling together, holding hands, and stealing a kiss here and there.

Roman of course heard about it quickly too. He didn't say anything, but his eyes said it all. He was pissed off and hurt. She tried keeping it neutral whenever they were near each other, but she could feel his anger despite him never saying one word to her.

They moved fast, way too fast in some people's eyes. After only a month together she moved out of her brother's house and into Baron's house. It felt right to both of them. They had waited years to be together. Any time apart seemed like a waste.

Another month passed by, and their happiness only seemed to grow to Roman's dislike. And then suddenly they weren't there for the house shows the entire week. When RAW rolled around they weren't there either. He knew all sorts of rumors were flying around, but he tried not to seem interested. At least not until Dean found him in catering an hour before the show.

"So?" Roman looked at Dean hopefully.

Dean sighed and sat down, running a hand over the top of his head.

"Different rumors as expected. No one seems to know where they are," Dean said.  
"Tell me," Roman said.  
"My favorite is them getting married already, and they're on their honeymoon," Dean said.  
"Your favorite?" Roman sneered.  
"It's the one that'll hurt you the least," Dean said.  
"Fuck, it's that bad?" Roman asked.

Dean nodded and looked sad. He really didn't want to tell Roman, but he knew the rumors would eventually reach him one way or another. Better that Roman heard them from him.

"There's another one going around, saying they're in the hospital because she's pregnant and has to get an abortion," he said.  
"Pregnant?" Roman asked shocked.  
"That one comes in two versions," Dean sighed. "One where it's Baron's baby, and one..."  
"One where it's mine!" Roman growled angrily. "Fuck, no! If there's even the slightest chance she's carrying my child, she's not fucking getting rid of it!"  
"Roman, relax!" Dean tried. "You don't know if it's true. It's just a rumor."  
"I don't give a fuck!" Roman snarled.

He took out his phone and called her. It rang four times before he gave up. Instead he sent her a text.

 _"We need to talk ASAP. Call me!"_

He looked at Dean again, and saw that his friend looked anything but pleased.

"What?" He barked.  
"I don't even know you anymore. I love you, man, but I don't fucking know you anymore," Dean stood up. "You brought this on yourself. She was honest from the beginning, and you chose not to believe her, and now you're running around angry because you didn't get your way. Grow up, Roman, and take some fucking responsibility!"  
"She stole two years of my life!" Roman sneered.  
"No!" Dean yelled. "You stole two years of her life! You did this! Not her! I suggest when you start dating again that you fucking listen. Let this be a hard lesson to learn."

Maddie and Baron weren't at the house shows the next week either. Roman didn't see them until the next RAW. Baron was opening the show with a promo. While Baron was in the ring, Roman saw his chance. He grabbed her hand and dragged her into a near by room before she could react.

"What the fuck, Roman?" She stared at him.

He held up her hands and looked at them.

"No ring. Do you didn't get married," he said.  
"Married? God, we've only been together for two months," she said.  
"You're already living together," he pointed out.  
"What's your point?" She asked.

He took a deep breath. This was harder than he had thought it would be.

"So you were in the hospital?" He asked.  
"I see good news still travels fast around here," she said.  
"Good? Good?" He yelled. "Was it mine or his?"  
"Huh?" She looked at him puzzled.  
"The baby! Was is mine or his? I swear to god if you killed my baby..." He yelled.  
"What baby?" She yelled back. "Not that it's any of your fucking business, but we were in the hospital because Baron had a vasectomy."

He looked stunned for a second. Somewhere deep inside he knew she was telling the truth, but he had spent a week assuming the worst, especially when she hadn't called like he had told her to, and he couldn't let it go that easy.

"I don't believe you," he said.  
"Look at the fucking card for tonight!" She said angrily. "Do you honestly think I would be wrestling if I just had an abortion? But Baron is only doing a promo tonight. He won't wrestle again until next week. Do the fucking math, Roman."

It all clicked inside him while he fell even further apart. He knew that what Baron had just done was cementing that she would never come back to him. Her and Baron were on the same page. He wasn't even part of the story anymore. He swallowed his pride and his own heartbreak. She didn't deserve his anger and pain, and he didn't deserve her. He should have listened. He should have believed her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Can you ever forgive me?"  
"I already have," she said. "I just wish you hadn't asked me out on a second date. Baron and I... Fuck! There were feelings back then too, but he backed off because of you. He and I would have been somewhere else in life by now if I hadn't been with you. I'm not saying this to hurt you, Roman. I'm saying it because it's the truth. But who knows? Maybe this was fate testing us to see if we would still find our way to each other."

He nodded slowly while fighting a hard battle to keep the tears within.

"I hope he makes you happy," he said.  
"He does," she reached over and gave his arm a squeeze. "You're not a bad man, Roman. There's someone out there for you too. Someone who wants the same things in life as you. Just don't make the same mistake twice."

Several hours later she found herself lying naked in Baron's arms on their bus. She had told him everything that had happened between her and Roman that evening. As always Baron listened and understood without getting mad.

"He's hurting, but he'll get over it," he said. "I can't say I blame him. I'd be hurting like crazy too if I lost you."  
"What do you think would have happened between us if we had gotten together two years ago?" She asked.  
"We'd probably be where we are right now. Living together, wrestling, being happy. And we would have gotten married," he answered.  
"You think?" She asked.  
"I know," he said confidently. "We're meant to be. So much that... Wait a second."

He jumped out of bed and started roaming through a bag. He finally found what he was looking for. He jumped up on the bed again and showed her an open ring box with a silver ring shaped like a pair of wings inside.

"Baron?" She looked at him.  
"We're meant to be," he said again. "So much that I wanna marry you already. I know it's soon, and I understand if you say no, but I gotta ask. Will you marry me?"  
"Yes!" She threw her arms around his neck. "I love you so much, babe."  
"I love you too, sweet cakes," he said.

He took out the ring and slid it on her finger.

"Perfect," she said. "Let's fucking elope. Tomorrow. Let's just run off and get married somewhere."  
"Tomorrow," he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "Tomorrow's perfect."


End file.
